To the editor:

Duke and I went for a walk in the park yesterday. I enjoyed the gentle path, the benches and the pleasant people I met on the way. Duke enjoyed exploring the woods. Neither of us would have enjoyed our outing nearly as much if he had been on a leash.

My husband and I have supported the Bainbridge park district with our tax dollars, our levy votes and volunteer hours for all of the 37 years we have lived here. But since the park district contracted with the Humane Society and prepared to levy fines for unleashed dogs, the district seems to have changed. There was no attempt to compromise. Suggestions such as alternating days when dogs could be off-leash were ignored.

The district did build a dog park, but that is not the same as a walk in the woods, nor does it provide a place for the water breeds to swim. And it means a drive rather than a walk to the neighborhood park.

Where were we yesterday? Duke and I were in Silverdale.

ELEANOR WHEELER

Bainbridge Island